Exactly. To read into Scream as some sort of ultimatum of horror is foolish... Scream said "this is what horror is and has become..." but doesn't beg us to think that's all it should be.

Of course that's what Scream is about, but that didn't stop non-horror mainstream from using it as the "Bible to Horror". I don't know how many people I've met that think that way, that the Scream rules are the definitive guide to how to make a horror movie. It's kinda annoying, though getting back to Cabin in the Woods, it's just as annoying when you see those not familiar with ED saying, "Oh, Cabin in the Woods ripoff!!!".

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Of course that's what Scream is about, but that didn't stop non-horror mainstream from using it as the "Bible to Horror". I don't know how many people I've met that think that way, that the Scream rules are the definitive guide to how to make a horror movie. It's kinda annoying, though getting back to Cabin in the Woods, it's just as annoying when you see those not familiar with ED saying, "Oh, Cabin in the Woods ripoff!!!".

Name a film that used Scream as the "Bible to Horror", because I can't think of one...

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Scream didn't "ruin those other movies" it simply exploited horror movies for what they had become. It mocked them for FOLLOWING the rules, while doing so itself. It pointed out how clichéd the horror genre had gotten. It was brilliant.

It was brilliant because it... mocked itself for being clichéd?

Mayhem. In a boilersuit.

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Yes and no. My wording was probably poor, but I saw it as mocking previous horror films (particularly slashers) for being very predictable, by showing the rules that had to be followed to fulfill the outcomes of those films (virgins live, people who have sex die, drinking and partying lead to death, etc...). Not saying all prior slashers were bad, but the stories all seemed to be mesh together to form the same old trend for the horror films of the late 70s and 80s. Scream wasn't a game changer in the fact of being a totally different form of slasher, but like I said earlier, it pointed out the rules so that in a sense they could be broken. Movies that followed had an opportunity to do something entirely different and hold nothing back. This is how I view it, but it's just my opinion.

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Scream made it funny to call them rules, but it only makes more sense to get more of an emotional reaction when the last survivor is a woman that a man, it just gets "tired" and called over used when it fails to resonate somehow.

I met her, fifteen years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding; and not even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this cow, with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach her, and then another seven trying to keep her locked up because I realized that what was living behind that cow's eyes was purely and simply... evil.

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My only real gripe is that every single money shot, except the very last one, is in the red band trailer so there were no surprises when it came to the gore. Speaking of the gore I didn't find this any more violent than the Dawn remake. Yeah it's bloody but nothing I haven't seen before.

All of this.

I saw this last night as it's only just got it's UK release. I have to say I felt the movie fell victim to being severely overhyped, for me. That's not to say it's not a good remake, or a good film on it's own for that matter, but I was slightly underwhelmed leaving the theater. For one, this is not the goriest film to hit theaters like most are suggesting. It's hella bloody, particularly in those last fifteen minutes, but in terms of the nastiness or mutilation/dismemberment factor, it's really no more grotesque than most of the torture porn fare we've had in recent years like Saw or whatever.

Secondly, wasn't much of a fan of the deadites in this one. The make-up was abit lazy, particularly the overtly fake-looking contact lenses, and who let Regan MacNeil on the set in the form of [SPOILER]Mia?[/SPOILER] The only one I think was particularly effective was [SPOILER]the blonde girl[/SPOILER] (yeah, don't know her name... she was that redundant). Also, what movie were the people who said there's much more character development going on here watching? OK, so let's break it down. Aside from Mia and her brother who got the smallest bit of backstory, who the hell else was well developed? The carnage got going very early on and all of the characters for me were very much fodder.

Now, I feel like I should point out some of the film's stronger points. The violence and carnage there is, is very good (whether you saw it in the red band trailer or not). The [SPOILER]raining blood and birth of the abomination[/SPOILER] scene was easily my favorite part of the movie. The acting was fine, nothing special, but all of the cast did exactly what they needed to and Jane Levy brought her A-game in terms of really immersing herself into the role.

It's well shot, with subtle and sometimes not-too-subtle nods to the original's distinctive style. The special effects for the most part were great, save for some pretty hokey CGI moments. The franchise's element of fun is not totally lost here. Those labelling this a straight-up horror are probably pigeon-holing it a bit. There's lots of silly/campy moments; they're just surrounded by a lot of very gritty and grotesque ones. The audience I was watching with were laughing alot throughout, which must mean something. I appreciated that they tried to make this their own story, as shallow as it was, this is not just a lazy reboot, but rather a reinvention.

All-in-all, it's abit of a mixed bag for me. Most definitely one of the better horror remakes, but when there's a shit-tonne of crappy ones that isn't really much of a compliment. Fun, gory and respectful to it's predecessors in most cases, but not the masterstroke some are making it out to be.

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My first post here so it might as well be about Evil Dead which I saw Yesterday.

The Film makers hearts were definitely in the right place with this one. However it did just tend to fall short for me to be classed as a remake that is just as good as the original.

First off I'll start with some good points.

1. Eric. The dude was simply awesome, really wish the movie had him as the main character. [SPOILER]Loved how he just took a hell of a beating and kept going for the most of the movie till he died.[/SPOILER]

2. Plenty of references to the original, hell I'm sure I didn't even spot them all.

4. The cabin and woods were pretty good. They definitely chose the right locations for the movie.

And now for some bad points.

1. Opening scene was pretty pointless I thought.[SPOILER] Also if she was supposed to be purified by fire then why did he shoot her? Wouldn't she need to be have burned to death to be purified?[/SPOILER]

2. The whole soul business. [SPOILER]Not that it was a bad idea, just could have been explained a little better what counted as "feasting on souls" for the abomination to rise.[/SPOILER]

3. Eric deadite. Expected a lot more from the deadite Eric, he only said one line I can remember?

4. Mia. I just didn't care for the character at all. I thought it would have been more interesting and more emotionally engaging to have Eric as the lead. Could delve in to his character farther and him dealing with what he unleashed and being the cause of his friends dying.

5. The abomination. [SPOILER]Should really have kept the original idea of it being a freak composite of all the other characters instead of just being a Mia deadite.[/SPOILER]

That's about it really, I suppose most of my complaints about the movie are just really nit picks or just things I would have liked a little better if done differently.

That said it was enjoyable and a noble attempt at an Evil Dead movie but for me it failed to be up there with the likes of The Fly, The Thing and Dawn of the dead remakes. I guess the reason I loved those remakes is because they each brought something very different and didn't just copy the original.

Maybe another viewing will change my view on the movie, I Guess I was just had high hopes and was expecting too much.

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Name a film that used Scream as the "Bible to Horror", because I can't think of one...

I can't belive I fucked that post up. I didn't mean mainstream horror movies using it as a "Bible to Horror", I meant mainstream audiences. The type of people who because they think it looks cool of "scary", but the kind that go because "...that hot chick/dude from Dawson's Creek is in it!!!".

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Well I finally saw it yesterday and I enjoyed immensely! Whilst it wasn't as good as the trailer, and my hopes were slightly deflated anyway after hearing some very average reviews, which I think helped me to enjoy it more. It's an above average horror film with a really break neck pace and outrageous gore. The final battle was gripping stuff with one of the best kills I've ever seen! There are some really tense scenes and I was gripped throughout.

It isn't as good as the original though, which is sort of expected, and I would've liked the characters to be more developed so I felt something for them when they snuffed it. Still, a wonderful horror film with massive replay value. I'm already itching to see it again!

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Has anyone wondered whether the majority of the film could just be in Mia's head due to the pain of going cold turkey? She might just be hallucinating and she actually killed all her friends. The film could even just be a whole metaphor for going cold turkey or is this too deep?

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Has anyone wondered whether the majority of the film could just be in Mia's head due to the pain of going cold turkey? She might just be hallucinating and she actually killed all her friends. The film could even just be a whole metaphor for going cold turkey or is this too deep?

I definitely think Mia's descent into madness (via the demonic possession) was a metaphor for going cold turkey. I'm pretty sure Alvarez has stated this himself, before. As for the whole movie being a hallucination, I think that's abit of a stretch.

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1. Eric. The dude was simply awesome, really wish the movie had him as the main character. [SPOILER]Loved how he just took a hell of a beating and kept going for the most of the movie till he died.[/SPOILER]

I was thinking that, too. The movie went out of it's way to not make Mia's brother the lead, by giving all the good lines, and ass beating to the character of Eric. Definitely my fav. character.